Be Our Guest: Crafting a Magical Client Experience

The Client Services team of Valparaiso University’s IT department found inspiration in Disney’s guest service models and has been building a culture of superior service throughout IT. Come along on a magic carpet ride to discover how this new world is transforming delivery of technological services to the campus. From Help Desk to training to assessment, we are increasing satisfaction levels among campus constituents as we meet their needs. We will show how we created a guest service compass that guides our decision-making and service delivery. Further, we will share areas where we learned we were creating our own obstacles in empowering staff to provide service to our guests and how we improvement

Raising the Bar on Training at Valparaiso University

We have recently overhauled our IT training program that we offer our students, faculty and staff. In the past, the training program consisted of sessions about changes to campus systems or sessions related to very specific software uses such as mail merge or tables. Users can now expect that training will be more than software use and how-to’s. We have started looking at ways to enhance our clients overall use of campus technology. As we examined ways to better serve our campus community, we engaged in qualitative observations in many areas. We examined how our graduate students were using technology to collaborate. The faculty were observed by our training staff to see how they were employing campus technology in courses and integrating technology into their assignments given to students. We interviewed our Help Desk Student Consultants to see what they observed as major training goals throughout the campus based on their interactions with clients. Upon completion of our observations, we outline our course development plans for increasing technology integration and full use of our campus technology offerings to further our mission of enhancing learning, teaching and job function through technology. Our goal is to reach beyond the software functionality and take our clients to the apex of relevance and application

Where Do Riders Park Dockless, Shared Electric Scooters? Findings from San Jose, California

Dockless, shared, electric kick-scooters started popping up on U.S. city streets without warning in 2017. Reaction to the shared scooters came swiftly and strongly. On the one hand, the scooters have proven popular with riders, attracting investment capital and expanding service to additional cities. But others have been less enthusiastic, with a central complaint being how shared scooters are parked. This perspective explores the extent to which parked shared scooters pose a problem to others on streets, sidewalks, and public spaces, using empirical evidence documenting where scooters have been parked in downtown San Jose, California

The Use of Absolute Vibrational Band Intensities in Structural Analysis. I. n-Alkanes and Derived Ketones

A systematic investigation of group absorption band intensities in tetrachloromethane of n-alkanes and methyl n-alkyl ketones is described. Contributions to the total intensity in given regions from each structural group are established and the results used to predict the spectral intensities of methyl cyclohexane, din-hexyl ketone and cycloheptanone. The variations in CH2 and CH3 group contributions arising from proximity to· the. carbonyl are discussed in relation to the constancy of King\u27s effective atomic charge Raman group frequencies and intensities of the CH3S and CH3CH2S are established. It appears likely.that Raman band intensities, though less easily measured, could also be useful in structural analysis

Google Earth Mapping of Damage from the Niigata-Ken-Chuetsu M6.6 Earthquake of 16 July 2007

We describe the use of Google Earth during and after a large damaging earthquake that struck the central Japan coast on 16 July 2007 to collect and organize damage information and guide the reconnaissance activities. This software enabled greater real-time collaboration among scientists and engineers. After the field investigation, the Google Earth map is used as a final reporting product that was directly linked to the more traditional research report document. Finally, we analyze the use of the software within the context of a post-disaster reconnaissance investigation, and link it to student use of Google Earth in field situations

The Friendship Journey: Developing Global Understanding in the Middle Grades

The goals of developing a global perspective are consistent with the faith-based values of Catholicism. The primary goal is to prepare students academically, morally, and socially to participate in a globalized world that constantly faces new problems. A key component of this is the understanding that other people, who may appear on the surface to be very different from themselves, have differences which have value and similarities which unite us. The purpose of this article is to present one Catholic school’s attempts to prepare its students to meet the challenges of citizenry in an international community and to describe the impact of those efforts. The questions we explored are: (a) Does a student-focused, cultural exchange program enhance American students’ global perspectives? Does a student-focused, cultural exchange opportunity enrich students’ cultural understandings? Findings from this study revealed that students gained an appreciation for diverse cultures through social interaction. While the pre- and post-test survey data revealed some changes in students’ beliefs and attitudes, interviews and observations provided substantial evidence of students’ evolving awareness and respect for other cultures. The tangible connections formed produced young people who have a greater appreciation for our global community. Résumé Les objectifs consistant à développer une perspective mondiale s’accordent avec les valeurs religieuses du catholicisme. Le principal objectif est de préparer les élèves au niveau scolaire, moral et social à prendre part à une mondialisation qui rencontre constamment de nouveaux problèmes. Pour y parvenir, il est essentiel qu’ils comprennent que d’autres personnes qui ne leur ressemblent pas du tout en apparence, présentent des différences que nous apprécions et des ressemblances qui nous unissent. Cet article a pour objet de montrer comment une école catholique a essayé de préparer ses élèves à surmonter les problèmes rencontrés en tant que citoyen d’une communauté internationale et de décrire quel impact ces actions ont eu. Les questions étudiées sont les suivantes : (a) Un programme d’échanges culturels centré sur l’élève renforce-t-il les perspectives mondiales des élèves américains ? Leur compréhension des cultures se trouve-t-elle enrichie par la possibilité d’effectuer un échange culturel centré sur l’élève ? Les conclusions tirées de cette étude ont montré que les élèves ont appris à apprécier des cultures diverses par l’interaction sociale. Alors que les données de l’étude avant et après les tests ont révélé certaines modifications des croyances et attitudes des élèves, les entretiens et observations ont clairement prouvé une évolution de la sensibilisation des élèves et de leur respect vis-à-vis d’autres cultures. Les liens tangibles qui se sont tissés ont amené les jeunes à mieux apprécier notre communauté mondiale. Resumen Los objetivos para desarrollar una perspectiva global son consistentes con los valores basados en la fe del catolicismo. El principal objetivo es preparar a los estudiantes académica, moral y socialmente para participar en un mundo globalizado que se enfrenta constantemente a nuevos problemas. Un componente clave de esto es el entendimiento de que otra gente, que puede aparentar en la superficie ser de una manera muy distinta a ellos, tiene diferencias que resultan valiosas y a su vez similitudes que nos unen. El objetivo de este artículo es presentar la intención de una escuela católica de preparar a sus estudiantes para que logren los desafíos de la ciudadanía en una comunidad internacional y describir el impacto de estos esfuerzos. Las preguntas exploradas son: (a) ¿Puede un programa de intercambio cultural centrado en el alumno ampliar las perspectivas globales de los estudiantes estadounidenses? (b) ¿Puede una oportunidad de intercambio cultural centrado en el alumno enriquecer la comprensión cultural de los estudiantes? Los resultados de este estudio revelaron que los estudiantes ganaron apreciación por las diversas culturas a través de la interacción social. Aunque la información previa y posterior a las encuestas revelaron cambios en las creencias y actitudes de los estudiantes, las entrevistas y las observaciones ofrecieron pruebas sustanciales de evolución en la sensibilización y respeto de los estudiantes hacia otras culturas. Las conexiones tangibles que se formaron produjeron jóvenes con un mayor aprecio por nuestra comunidad global

Rydberg-London Potential for Diatomic Molecules and Unbonded Atom Pairs

We propose and test a pair potential that is accurate at all relevant distances and simple enough for use in large-scale computer simulations. A combination of the Rydberg potential from spectroscopy and the London inverse-sixth-power energy, the proposed form fits spectroscopically determined potentials better than the Morse, Varnshi, and Hulburt-Hirschfelder potentials and much better than the Lennard-Jones and harmonic potentials. At long distances, it goes smoothly to the correct London force appropriate for gases and preserves van der Waals's "continuity of the gas and liquid states," which is routinely violated by coefficients assigned to the Lennard-Jones 6-12 form.Comment: Five pages, 10 figure

Management of the Post-Shuttle Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Water Circuits

The EMU incorporates two separate water circuits for the rejection of metabolic heat from the astronaut and the cooling of electrical components. The first (the Transport Water Loop) circulates in a semi-closed-loop manner and absorbs heat into a Liquid Coolant and Ventilation Garment (LCVG) warn by the astronaut. The second (the Feed Water Loop) provides water to a cooling device (Sublimator) with a porous plate, and that water subsequently sublimates to space vacuum. The cooling effect from the sublimation of this water translates to a cooling of the LCVG water that circulates through the Sublimator. Efforts are underway to streamline the use of a water processing kit (ALCLR) that is being used to periodically clean and disinfect the Transport Loop Water. Those efforts include a fine tuning of the duty cycle based on a review of prior performance data as well as an assessment of a fixed installation of this kit into the EMU backpack or within on-orbit EMU interface hardware. Furthermore, testing is being conducted to ensure compatibility between the International Space Station (ISS) Water Processor Assembly (WPA) effluent and the EMU Sublimator as a prelude to using the WPA effluent as influent to the EMU Feed Water loop. This work is undertaken to reduce the crew-time and logistics burdens for the EMU, while ensuring the long-term health of the EMU water circuits for a post-Shuttle 6-year service life

Ensemble Concerts: University Band, Symphonic Band, Symphonic Winds; November 15, 2009

Center for the Performing ArtsSunday AfternoonNovember 15, 20093:00 p.m

Measles virus causes immunogenic cell death in human melanoma

Oncolytic viruses (OV) are promising treatments for cancer, with several currently undergoing testing in randomised clinical trials. Measles virus (MV) has not yet been tested in models of human melanoma. This study demonstrates the efficacy of MV against human melanoma. It is increasingly recognised that an essential component of therapy with OV is the recruitment of host anti-tumour immune responses, both innate and adaptive. MV-mediated melanoma cell death is an inflammatory process, causing the release of inflammatory cytokines including type-1 interferons and the potent danger signal HMGB1. Here, using human in vitro models, we demonstrate that MV enhances innate antitumour activity, and that MV-mediated melanoma cell death is capable of stimulating a melanoma-specific adaptive immune response